ANIQ LIFTS MALAYSIA
He wins silver in the under-55kg clean and jerk at world meet in Uzbekistan
ANIQ Kasdan achieved a truly amazing feat when he won a medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old was in his element in the men’s under-55kg event as he took the clean and jerk silver by lifting 142kg to become the first Malaysian to earn a world meet medal.
However, he managed only 107kg in the snatch to finish fifth overall with a combined 249kg, which was also a new national record.
The world meet is also doubling as the Commonwealth Championships. Aniq also bagged the Commonwealth Championships gold as he was the highest-placed lifter from a Commonwealth nation.
Aniq now occupies top spot of the qualifying rankings for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games next year.
His success augurs well for the future of the sport in Malaysia following a string of doping cases in the last few years. The most
recent positive case was recorded in October at the National Championships in Pahang.
Aniq was one of the weightlifters selected by the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation from the national meet after they disbanded the national team due to doping issues.
National coach Naharudin Mahayudin is undoubtedly pleased with Aniq’s historic feat but is aware that the national squad’s task in Tashkent is far from over.
Naharudin hopes that Aznil Bidin and Erry Hidayat will put in strong performances to boost their chances of qualifying for Birmingham.
“Aniq was not at his best in the snatch but redeemed himself with a strong performance in the clean and jerk,” said Naharudin yesterday.
“Overall, I am pleased with his performance. It was good to see him finishing on the podium.
“For Aznil and Erry, I have not set any high targets. The main goal for them is to qualify for Birmingham.
“But if our strategy works well and they are able to perform on the day, we might have a chance of a medal in the Commonwealth Championships category.”
Aznil, who won gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, will take to the mat for the men’s Under-61kg event today.
Erry, who won bronze at the 2019 Philippines Sea Games, will compete in the Under-73kg class tomorrow.
He is the son of 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games gold medallist Hidayat Hamidon.